Importing your .CSV Recruiting List in FastRecruit

We know that some programs maintain their lists of recruits in an excel spreadsheet. With FastRecruit, it's simple to import a large list of recruits from a .CSV file.

1. Ensure your spreadsheet is saved as a .CSV file.

If your spreadsheet is currently saved in an Excel (.xls) format, or any format other than .CSV, open the spreadsheet in your spreadsheet program. Next, click the File menu and select Save As. Name your file and choose your save location (we suggest the desktop), then click the drop down menu next to "format" to choose the Comma Separated Values (.csv) option. You can now save your file.

Note: If some of the information you would like imported into FastRecruit is not kept within your spreadsheet file (e.g., Club Jersey #), you can manually add those topics within Excel (or Numbers). Be sure that you include a topic header for all of your columns in your .CSV spreadsheet.

3. Next, an Import Recruit dialogue will appear. First, click Choose File and select the .CSV file you just created.

4. Next, you will match up the columns in your excel spreadsheet with the available fields in FastRecruit. You can also create new fields as you import if they aren't available in FastRecruit.

In this Map Columns window, you'll see the available fields in the FastRecruit System on the right, and the fields available from Your Import File on the left. Some fields will match up automatically based on name. If needed, select the drop-down in the left-hand column and select the appropriate column from your import file that matches the FastRecruit field. At the bottom of the example below, I'm selecting Class, which is a column header in my excel sheet, to match up with Grad Year, an available field in FastRecruit.

**Note that school name, school city and school state must all be entered on the .CSV file in order for high school information to be imported.**

5. If you have information on your import file that is not listed as an available field in FastRecruit, you can create new fields in the Custom Fields section at the bottom. Simply type in the name of the field you'd like to create (Position in the example below), then click the + button to the right. Once you click the + button, you'll be able to select the column from your import file that matches this new field in FastRecruit.

6. Once you've mapped all of your fields, click Next to proceed. Pay attention to any error messages noting adjustments needed to your import file.

If you receive an error message like the one below regarding duplicate recruits within your file, you must delete any duplicate entries in your spreadsheet so that each recruit has a unique name. If you happen to have two recruits with the exact same name, please add an initial to one of the recruits so that their names are not exactly the same. You DO NOT need to close out of FastRecruit to do this. Simply open up your .CSV file, make the corrections needed and save your file, then press the Next button again in FastRecruit. If all duplicates have been removed, you can continue on your way to importing your recruits.

7. Next, you will be taken to a Preview of your import. New recruits to your FastRecruit database will be listed in white, while recruits already within your FastRecruit database will appear highlighted in yellow. For example, in the file below, Sue Bird and Maya Moore are new Recruits in this Database, while LeBron James and Michael Jordan are existing Recruits within FastRecruit so they are highlighted in yellow. A recruit may already exist in your database if you added them last year, or if another staff member already entered them. For existing recruits in your database, any information within your .CSV file that differs from what you currently have in FastRecruit will appear highlighted in red. In the example above, LeBron James' "Class" and "High School Jersey Number" have changed. Press Confirm when you are ready to move forward, and your Recruits will now be loaded into FastRecruit.